A/HRC/41/32 Ageing and Health. The strategy provides a vision and objectives for 14 years, from 2016 to 2030, and an action plan for 2016 to 2020 to develop the evidence base and partnerships for the Decade of Healthy Ageing 2020–2030 (see document WHA69/2016/REC/1, resolution 69.3 and annex 1). 31. The enhancement of technical cooperation and the strengthening of capacity at the country level are highlighted in the strategy as key priorities for advancing work in the area of ageing. More recently, WHO regional and country offices, government agencies, civil society organizations and other stakeholders from 81 countries selected training and mentoring as a top priority for the next 10 years of action in the area of ageing, as reflected in their responses to a survey administered by WHO in late 2018. From 2017 to 2019, WHO enhanced technical cooperation and strengthened capacity by organizing and contributing to a series of capacity-building programmes and activities and by providing technical support at the country and regional levels. For example, in 2017, WHO provided technical support to Governments in sub-Saharan Africa for the development of national policies, programmes and action plans on healthy ageing that are aligned with global and regional frameworks, including the strategy and action plan. More recently, WHO developed the first online programme on healthy ageing, which is aimed at developing leaders and equipping them with the understanding and the competencies to engage meaningfully in the topic of healthy ageing and become the agents of change around the world to put the idea into practice. 32. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) supported a South-South cooperation initiative between Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia to exchange experiences, lessons learned and good practices in addressing the health needs of older persons. UNFPA, in cooperation with the non-governmental organization Partnership for Public Health, established centres for healthy ageing in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including in Sarajevo, which work towards improving the quality of life of older persons, especially their mental health, and enabling them to be actively engaged in and to make valuable contributions to their community. The successful experience of Bosnia and Herzegovina was replicated in North Macedonia, with support from UNFPA, through the establishment of two centres for healthy ageing in the municipalities of Vinica and Čaška to serve the needs of older persons, including those who could not afford health care. A learning visit to the centres in Sarajevo was conducted in 2017, including participants at the ministerial level, to see first-hand the operation of the centres and good practices that could be transferred, as appropriate. Capacity-building activities have been organized in both countries to better understand the consequences of rapid demographic changes and how the capacities of older persons could be tapped. Furthermore, non-governmental organizations working on population ageing were mobilized to promote active and healthy ageing among older persons. E. Use of assistive technology 33. New technologies and artificial intelligence are radically transforming our society, including in the area of care and support for older persons. The Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons focused on the subject in her 2017 thematic report (A/HRC/36/48), in which she provided an overview of the existing international and regional human rights standards and analysed the potential and challenges of the use of such technology for the enjoyment by older persons of their human rights. She observed that the use of assistive technology and robots had great potential to increase the ability of older persons to live independently and autonomously and to fully exercise their human rights on an equal basis with others. She recommended that States integrate assistive technology into health and social protection schemes, making it available at affordable prices and offering financial assistance to those who needed it, while also retaining other support options, including traditional care, and establishing appropriate monitoring and accountability mechanisms to prevent human rights abuses. Furthermore, she called upon States to enhance international cooperation, including South-South and triangular cooperation, to enable greater access to science, technology, innovation and knowledgesharing. 9